


One Step Back, Three Steps Forward

by Goober



Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Genre: Fluff, Headaches & Migraines, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-24
Updated: 2016-01-24
Packaged: 2018-05-16 00:58:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5807101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goober/pseuds/Goober
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It really should have come as no surprise that their stubborn, vain, and newly appointed Arthur wouldn’t let anyone know he was struggling. The only person in Kingsman that was twice as stubborn as Harry was his young replacement, and boyfriend, Eggsy Unwin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One Step Back, Three Steps Forward

Harry Hart was a stubborn bastard long before the bullet to the brain in Kentucky. He was infamous in Kingsman for being particularly hard to work with, running through nearly every handler, until an exasperated Merlin decided only he would work with their current Galahad. The nurses knew him as ornery and unwilling to stay in bed, no matter how many times they tried to explain that, no, ribs do not heal that fast. The old Arthur once had to cut a meeting short to have an all out argument with Harry, and that was when Lee Unwin was brought in as a candidate. Merlin still likes to tell him about how the footage very clearly captured every single throbbing vein on the side of Chester King’s head, and how Harry gave absolutely no fucks about it with just how  _ loudly  _ he suggested where Chester could shove his outdated ideals.

It really should have come as no surprise that their stubborn, vain newly appointed Arthur wouldn’t let anyone know he was struggling. People noticed, but he was far too dedicated to let them succeed. When he paused behind Merlin just a bit too long, the quartermaster demanded to know what was going on, and was promptly given a lie. When he pressed the heel of his hand into the corner of his temple, Lancelot worried over him, until he told the younger lady that he was perfectly fine. For Percival, a simple sigh was all that was needed in response to the raised eyebrow, when Harry sat rigidly for a few seconds. The two of them always did have an odd relationship.

The only person in Kingsman that was twice as stubborn as Harry was his young replacement, and boyfriend, Eggsy Unwin.

 

They were reviewing the parameters for a mission that Eggsy had been selected for; some undercover collection for intel about an illegal drug den in Uruguay, whose recent exports had caused a bit of an issue in both England and Australia. Harry had managed to muddle through most of the day, but the ache behind his eye and the stinging in the side of his skull were overwhelming, drawing him away from his practiced facade of perfect health. Slowly, as Eggsy spoke, he removed his glasses, and rubbed a line from his eye to temple. He dragged the muscle with strong fingers, forcing them to relax under his touch, if only for a moment. Eggsy noticed instantly.

“In an’ out, got it. Is there anyone who- what’s wrong?” Eggsy’s brows arched in worry as he leaned in on his chair, elbows pressing into the table as he moved closer to Harry.

“It’s  _ nothing _ ,” Harry tried, but he noticed how tired his voice sounded. He cleared his throat, and started again. “I’m quite alright, Eggsy. Thank you,” he smiled fondly (if not a bit meekly) at his boy.

“Na, don’t you start that. Rox told me you was givin’ her a run around earlier, so somethin’s been botherin’ ya, and I wanna know right now.” Eggy’s mouth formed a hard line, that in any other circumstance, Harry would have found adorable.

“It’s nothing, Eggsy.” Harry repeated tensely, “This meeting is done; no, you will not be alone on it, we’re sending-” he had to pause for a minute as the pressure in his head grew, “sending Percival with you.”

“Harry,” Eggsy reached over the table and grabbed the other agent’s free hand, “what’s goin’ on. Somethin’s really not right. Please, talk to me.” Worry etched every line of his face as he scooted his chair closer to Harry’s.

The sound grated in his already ringing ears, and Harry felt like he was going to be sick. Sighing hard, he managed to soften the nauseousness for a moment as he shook his head lightly. “It’s -” he tried to stand up, but found he was unsteady on his feet. He held tightly onto the back of his chair, regretfully removing his hand from Eggsy’s.

“Yeah, this ain’t nothin’,” Eggsy said, gritting his teeth with annoyance, but he kept it from his voice. In a flash he stood from his chair and held onto Harry’s shoulder, the other hand feeling his forehead. Harry must have felt as clammy as he thought he did, because Eggsy’s worry only doubled. “Alrigh’ I don’t care what you say, you’re layin’ down.”

Any argument Harry had was bitten back with a fresh wave of nausea as Eggsy slowly lead him from the meeting room. He thought they would go down the stairs and through the shop, but the shakiness of his boy gave Eggsy other ideas. In the end he was thankful that the boy hadn’t opted to try dragging him home - he wouldn’t have made it.

They had barely crossed the threshold before Harry disregarded his inability to handle moving very fast, in order to fling himself close to the nearest bin. Nausea overthrew his senses as he could do nothing but wait to be sick, realizing that he hadn’t eaten anything due to the pain in his head, and so nothing came. But still, he shuddered and ached; closed his eyes hard and prayed for the merciful release of death, while Eggsy talked quietly to someone just outside the door. The nausea had rolled out for the time being, by the time Eggsy wandered back in and knelt down behind him.

“Why wouldn’t you say anythin’ ‘bout this, Harry?” Eggsy asked him calmly. In any other circumstance, he would have praised the younger man on his excellent tact. But he remained silent, unable to speak. The boy only sighed to himself and rubbed a reassuring hand on the back of Harry’s jacket. “Let’s get you to the couch, yeah?”

Dreading the thought of moving, he stiffened. Eggsy waited patiently for Harry to relax, before letting the older man lean on him, as they made their way to the couch. The room was used as a sort of spare office, if for some reason one of the ones in Kingsman was out of use. Harry’s knees hit the edge of the couch, and he was helped down. He could do nothing but sit there while his head swam; pain pressing in on his skull, the slightest sounds amplified, overstimulation hitting him in dizzying waves.

“Here,” Eggsy offered suddenly, and something plastic was nudged against his lips.

“Is this a straw?” Harry scoffed quietly, before he started drinking the cool water through it. He could only imagine the frown Eggsy was wearing, and it was well worth the discomfort for the weak chuckle he gave.

“Where’s your meds?” Eggsy asked, unceremoniously feeling around in the pockets of Harry’s jacket.

“Will you stop that,” he chided, leaning back. “They’re in my desk.”

Eggsy sighed, but didn’t seem too bothered by it. That moment there was a tiny knock at the door, and the heat of the boy’s hands left his sides. There were a few whispers, followed by an exasperated sigh, followed by a terse remark, before footsteps leaving and the click of the door closing.

“What was that,” Harry asked as Eggsy returned, guiding one of the small migraine medications into his mouth, as well as the straw.

“Merlin ain’t pleased with you, bruv.” Eggsy said, a small snicker in his tone. “But he’s watchin’ over HQ while you rest, so, he’ll live.”

“He’ll be perfectly  _ fine _ ,” Harry replied curtly. He laid down with his face towards the back of the couch, so the arm put pressure on his aching temple. Eggsy unbuttoned his jacket and managed to slip it off him without jostling Harry much, a skill that no doubt came with his excellence in sleight of hand.

Tiredly, Harry listened to Eggsy move around the room. The boy checked the door, tried to quietly set the bin next to the couch, set the glass of water on the table near Harry’s head. Only then did he finally settle down on the chair behind the desk, the soft click of heels on wood told Harry that he had put his shoes up on the desk. If he hadn’t currently been out of it, he would have told him off for that.

“You don’t have to stay …” Harry interjected quietly, feeling overly exasperated that Eggsy had seen him  _ this _ weak for  _ this  _ long.

“‘Course I do, care about you, don’t I?” Eggsy answered, and he could picture the boy’s cocky side grin. “You may’s well get to sleep; arguin’ with me won’t do any good for either of us.”

He found himself too overwhelmed and exhausted to disagree - the last thing he thought before falling asleep was it seemed odd that there wasn’t as much pain from light as there had been in the hallway.

 

Harry woke uneasily, the dull aching of his head causing him to feel groggy. He didn’t think he was in bed at home, because last he checked his bed never felt this stiff. But with his eyes closed and shoulders warmed by soft fabric, and the familiar snoring somewhere behind him, it certainly felt like he was home.

He blinked a few times before his eyes would fully open, and even then he was cast in shadow. Harry waited a few seconds to test how his body felt; a few residual throbs in his skull, but overall it felt less full, and the ringing in his ears was gone. With a low groan he rolled over, catching the edge of his jacket before it fell onto the floor. Back against the couch, he looked around the room in slight confusion. The last thing he really clearly remembered was being lead out of the meeting room, past that it was an aural blur that hurt his head to try and recall.

The only light in the room was a lamp facing the wall, enough to draw the shapes from the darkness and cast some shadows, but not much else. Next to it were a pair of shiny oxfords that lead to legs crossed over one another, that lead to arms folded over a chest, which lead to Eggsy’s sleeping face with his chin pressed into his chest. The boy’s head lulled to one side, facing towards Harry as if he had been watching him. Guilt rose in his stomach as Harry observed the sleeping Eggsy silently, admiring the way his hair seemed impossibly more gold in the faded light.

A few moments passed, before sleepiness won out again. Harry smiling lightly as he closed his eyes and adjusted his position a bit, drifting off to the soft snores from the corner of the room. Just like he had every night that week.

 

The second time he awoke two things were already different.

One; his head no longer felt like it was simultaneously trying to drown him in oversensitivity, and jump through his skull via a jackhammer. He could move around without feeling sick, could move his eyes without his head cracking in half. He sighed in relief and moved it sit up, uneasily stretching his sore muscles. He knew there was no other option than sleeping on the couch, but it really did no good for his aching, aged limbs to act like a drunken university student.

The second change was that he was completely alone. There were no shiny oxfords or a sleepy young agent to wake up to. The chair in the corner was empty and facing Harry, almost like it was mocking him. The guilt overwhelmed him as he fretted about how much he had put Eggsy out to take care of him, thunking the back of his head softly against the plush cushioning of the couch. 

_ Of course he’s gone,  _ Harry grit his teeth,  _ you were completely out of it. Eggsy didn’t need to see that, didn’t need to take care of you. Couldn’t have just held it together for what - another few hours? - before you could ride this out alone at home.  _ The chatter in his brain continued unkindly, before the click of the door caught his attention, and silenced it.

The light that suddenly flooded the room from the hallway drew his head down, blinking as he recognized Eggsy’s profile outlined in the doorway. The boy stood there for a moment, before closing the door behind him, and walking carefully towards Harry.

“Hey there,” he started gently, a small smile on his face. Eggsy sat on the couch next to him, dropping a plate on his other side as he leaned close to Harry to check his forehead. “How are you feelin’?”

“Completely mortified,” Harry admitted sullenly. “Eggsy I’m sorry, you didn’t need to waste your afternoon looking after me. I would have been fine on my own, and inconveniencing you is-”

“Na, wasn’t a problem.” Eggsy grinned, relieved that Harry was back to himself again. “Harry, I wanted to be here with you. Look I don’t get whatever dumb thoughts you have that you don’t need anyone’s help, when clearly ya do.” He scanned Harry’s face, then frowned a bit, hands falling to grab both of the older agent’s. “I don’t get why you won’t let anyone help you, especially not me. Harry you was in some serious pain, and seein’ you like that just tells me you were willin’ to go through all of that alone, and that’s  _ not okay. _

“I really care about you, and I always want you to come to me if you need somethin’. It hurts that you wouldn’ trust me enough to tell me what was happenin’ to ya.”

Harry was silent for a long moment, before he pulled one of Eggsy’s hands to his lips, pressing a gentle kiss against the knuckles. “I … I never considered that you’d actually want to deal with this, with me. Eggsy, I’m sorry if you felt that I don’t trust you. I’ve just … I’ve never needed anyone before, and - well - suddenly that has changed. Not just because of what happened,” he indicated towards his temple, “but because I haven’t met anyone like you, anyone I’ve cared  _ so much  _ about.” There was a small pause before he added, “I thought seeing me so weak would have changed your mind about me, somehow. I was afraid of losing you.”

Silence fell between them, as Eggsy processed it. When he nodded, and smiled, he sounded relieved. “Nothin’ could change my mind about ya, Harry. You’re human, part’a bein’ human is gettin’ knocked down sometimes. I want you to always be able to come to me, alright. None of this stubborn ‘you against the world’ shit, yeah? I’m here now, and I plan on always bein’ here. Because I love ya an awful lot.”

Harry smiled, warmth spreading through his chest. He ran a hand through Eggsy’s hair, lightly mussed from where he slept against the chair, palm moving until it rested against his cheek. “And I always plan on you being here, too. I love you, Eggsy.”

There was a small break where Harry vanished to wash his face and brush his teeth, testing his balance and stability along the way. Eggsy stayed behind in the room, and when Harry entered again, he turned the lights on dim. He was still fine to light, but there was something comforting about the small office being bathed in shadow.

“Sorry I wasn’ here when you woke up, I wanted to get you somethin’ to eat. You haven’t all day, and I was worried.” Eggsy said sheepishly, nudging the plate he had put on the table. Two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches sat on it, cut into neat triangles. “There wasn’t much in the kitchen I knew you would like, sorry. You probably hate peanut butter or somethin’ like that, don’t you?”

Harry only cupped Eggsy’s face in his hands as he sat down, placing a grateful, sweet kiss against his lips. When he pulled back, he looked at the younger agent fondly. “It’s perfect, thank you Eggsy.” He grabbed a triangle at the same time as Eggsy, relaxing against the couch. “Want to hear about the time Chester King and I got into a yelling match that lasted an hour?”

“ _Yes,_ Harry,” Eggsy said gleefully, between the sandwich shoved into his mouth.


End file.
